Three Afghans killed in Bundeswehr clashes

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An investigative report by the United Nations said German soldiers stationed in Talokan apparently shot and killed three Afghans who attacked a Bundeswehr outpost in mid-May, a weekend media report said.

The military initially said there was no evidence of any deaths at the hands of German troops.

Despite those findings, the UN report said the Bundeswehr soldiers' reaction was "appropriate," according to information obtained by weekly magazine Der Spiegel.

Violence broke out on May 18 during a memorial service for four victims of a nighttime attack by US special forces. The funeral escalated into a demonstration outside a German field camp in Talokan, with attackers throwing Molotov cocktails and hand grenades.

German troops fired flares and warning shots before finally taking aim. The UN report said four Afghan security forces and two German soldiers were injured.

A defence ministry spokesman said Sunday that questions regarding whether German troops were responsible for any casualties could not be answered until ongoing investigations are complete.

"All findings so far show that German soldiers acted in accordance with national rules and ISAF rules," the spokesman added.

On May 20 the ministry issued a report, which stated Bundeswehr soldiers fired shots in self-defence because attackers did not respond to warnings. In addition, the ministry said it could not rule out the possibility that one member of the crowd was struck by gunfire in the neck or head.

The German defence ministry's own investigation also concluded that German soldiers took proper action, according to Der Spiegel. The ministry has been keeping both the report and surveillance footage under wraps for over a week.